I am becoming certified….YAY! So instead of just being a birth advocate and loving attendant for pregnant friends, I can actually call myself a certified post partum doula! I will also go after becoming a labor doula as well, but I have a full plate right now between the PPD and my AAMI studies.

So some girlfriends of mine and I are going to be getting together to write a wimmin’s zine. I am so thrilled at the idea of a zine dealing with wimmin’s issues! I have one friend who has had a baby thus far at home, so she and I have commonalities to write about! YAY! I am not sure when we will get together, but I hope soon. I have the perfect space for us all to gather for dancing, drumming, thinking, talking and writing.

I have been back at teaching bellydance now too! We have four weeks under our belt and now Connie and I are choreographing a short routine for the ladies to learn in the last 4 weeks. We will have a little hafla on the 30th. The idea behind our classes is troupe formation. We have two ladies who we are going to invite for further learning and to join the troupe. I am so excited about it! The greatest thing is that Connie and I both took our instruction from the Cassandra School! Our instruction was 25 years apart, but the same instruction nonetheless. Another great thing is that her style and mine are different, so routines will never be the same boring thing over and again. She is more traditional, as Cassandra is more traditional. I am more American Tribal Style, as my bellydance study has lead me that direction. It flows for me with regard to my personality as well as why I dance-the spirit of it. The Goddess dance if you will.

I am glad it is fall. THings are slowing down. We are getting our cold frames in, we are setting up for goats before the snow flies, and getting the house cleaned out before cold forces us inside with clutter. de-cluttering stinks, but is so worth it. After we have decluttered, I can take out my slow season crafting, like needlepoints, tea towels, aprons, dresses, etc. I love the cold months for their slow down.

I will have a video series up in a little bit about tea staining. I found a cutsie dress at Target on sale last weekend. It’s Isaac Misrahi for Target. I stained it this morning and it is hanging dry right now. I have some other alterations to do to it, namely taking it in as it is too big…waaaaay too big, as well as adding sleeves and a little trim and making a petticoat to go with it. I am very excited about this dress. I have a certain 40’s farmwife vision in my head when I see the end product in my head. Just you wait!

Off to nurse Zoe to nap and get Grace upstairs to clean her very messy playroom. Then out to tend the chickens. I have rock to throw down around the fencing and eggs to collect and kitchen scraps to feed them (They love treat time!)